Chapter Four
September 2003—St. Geneva Fair
The air smelled of popcorn, hot dogs, and gasoline from the rides. It was closing in on homecoming week, and Levi needed to dump Meghan … and quick. He pointed his water gun at the ceramic clown’s face and took aim.
Senior year of school started and he couldn’t have been less interested. Homework barely made his to-do list and he spent most of his time with his friends. Anything to avoid Cayden. She had infiltrated their lives. Either she baked with his mom or spent time fishing with his dad.
“On your mark.” Already three prizes deep against the guys, he hoped to score that giant stuffed dragon by the end of the night.
When he glanced away from the wide mouth of his target, Cayden caught his eye. She stood at the carnival entrance with kids from her school. The group closely resembled an ad in a men’s magazine with their high ponytails and lettermen jackets. It didn’t help that she laughed at something the captain of Chesterfield’s football team said.
“Get ready,” the carnival barker called. “Get set…”
Dale Newman grabbed Cayden by the crook of her arm and tried to pull her away from her friends.
“Go!”
Levi clutched the trigger of the gun but didn’t take his attention off the group of private school kids.
“What the shit? Bud’s kicking Levi’s ass.”
Dale whispered something in her ear, which made her shake her head with a laugh before pulling away from him.
“Come on, Levi, you’re losing!” Meghan screamed at a decibel level only dolphins could hear. He turned his attention back to the game. Not anywhere close to winning, he decided to put on a good show and squinted his eye. Aiming the gun at the clown’s mouth, he sprayed water into the opening.
“Ow, crap!” He pretended to rub while the game carny declared Bud the winner.
“What the hell?” Meghan pouted. “I really wanted that giraffe.”
Even though he faked his injury, he found it hard to believe she didn’t care.
“Is that the girl who’s staying at the resort?” Greg asked.
Cayden and her friends approached them. “I heard she was an orphan.” Meghan laughed while Cayden passed by them. “Did your parents take in an exchange student?”
He knew right then he would get rid of the cheerleader sooner rather than later.
“Double or nothing on the next one?” Levi offered, completely ignoring his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.
“That teddy and Snoopy for the gorilla if I win.” Shawn Cooper, the sheriff’s son who was considered the class clown, wagered. Levi hung around a good group of guys who were all raised in St. Geneva. They went to the same school since elementary and just stuck together. Greg got the “smart one” title, where the twins, Mike and Bud, were the jocks, which left him in the open spot, floater. The guy who could blend into any group with no problem.
That night everyone made it to the fair … even Bud’s twin, Mike—a first since being diagnosed with cancer.
“I want in on that,” Greg said. He stepped up to the game.
“On your mark…” Determined to win this time, he didn’t look away. “Get ready, get set … go!”
Putting all his attention on the stupid clown’s face, he pushed aside the playback of the way Cayden looked at that asshole. He heard about Dale, and the reviews were all bad. While his clown’s head filled up with air, he resisted the urge to punch the smug shit in the face. Unlike his anger, his balloon popped first.
“Lane number three is our winner.” The carny tossed a gaudy, oversized ring at him and winked. Meghan squealed in delight. As the cheerleader clung to his neck, he caught Cayden’s attention before she disappeared into the hall of mirrors with her friends.
Levi headed after her but drew up short once Sheriff Cooper stepped in front of them. “Are you guys behaving yourself?” Shawn’s dad headed up the department, and for a lack of a better word, was a real hard ass.
“We’re good, sir,” Shawn muttered, clearly embarrassed.
“I should hope so. I’d hate to get any calls about you nuts.” He pretended to draw his gun from his holster and made the pistol sign with his fingers. “Don’t forget what your curfew is, boy. I don’t want to have to come looking for you.” As he walked by, he squeezed his son’s shoulder until Shawn nodded in pain. They’d witnessed worse stuff from the sheriff. Today Shawn got off pretty easy.
Anxious to find Cayden, Levi mumbled under his breath. “I have to go take a leak.” He slipped out of Meghan’s death grip and pretended to head to the Porta-Potties. They were stationed on the other side of the fairgrounds by the Tilt-a-Whirl. “I’ll catch up with you guys at the bumper cars!” he called out before he doubled back to the funhouse.
The same carnival pitched their tent in St. Geneva every year. It was cute for a novelty but nothing more. With a quick look around, he snuck under the tarp that led to the employee entrance.
Dipped into darkness, he knew from experience where to turn. He followed the light from beneath the mirror slats until he came to an opening. A gang of teenage girls worked their way through the funhouse. Levi closed his eyes and tracked Cayden’s voice, deeper than the usual teenage nasal twang, and he counted their steps.
After the third girl went by, he took a chance and grabbed the last one. Hoping he didn’t make a mistake, he pulled her deeper into the funhouse and clamped his hand over her mouth. Thanking his lucky stars, he held up his finger to his lips.
“What the hell, Levi?” she hissed and punched him. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Ow.” He used his arm to duck under her next blow. “You didn’t tell me you were coming here.”
“I didn’t know I needed to check in with my warden.” In a huff, she finally stopped her rain of pixie punches.
“Only after lights out.” He glanced from beneath his arm and laughed at her pouty frown. “But I could have given you a ride.” She probably thought her hard expression intimidated him, but it did nothing more than turn him on.
“My friends brought me,” she said before she relaxed her tense stance and loosened her balled-up fist.
Off limits, his mind reminded him. Since nothing could be done about the warm pit that filled his stomach whenever she was near, Levi settled for her closeness instead. Leaning back against the mirror, he studied the prettiest girl he had ever seen. She piled her long hair on top of her head in a bun. It looked sophisticated against the contrast of her plain tank top, letterman jacket, and jeans.
“Cayden Young, part owner of a resort, doesn’t even own a car?”
Voices from another group of kids grew close to their spot. Grabbing her by the waist, he brought her deeper into the funhouse.
“Until I get my sleep under control, my grandfather won’t let me drive. That’s why I stay at the resort instead of school.”
They squeezed in between a distorted mirror and a skinny one. As he kept hold of her waist in the tight space, she put her hand on his chest. Unsure how many kids passed by, he tried to think of something other than her mouth. With their lips dangerously close, he breathed in the sweet scent of vanilla and citrus. His dream girl came in the form of his favorite ice cream flavor, Creamiscle.
“Hold on, does your family think you’re staying at the school? If you’re seventeen, you can stay—” When she looked away, he finally understood. “Holy shit, you’re not seventeen?”
“I’ll be sixteen next month.”
He grabbed his head. “My parents’ boss is legit a kid. This will blow their mind.”
“You can’t tell them,” she pleaded. Her pretty eyes went soft. “They’re already freaked out by our partnership.”
“Then what do I get for it?”
“Seriously?”
“Hurry up, genius.”
Cayden seemed genuinely shocked that he had her cornered. Levi knew he would get his payment in full to keep her little secret, but he wanted answers for a few other things first. “What’s with you and Dale Newman?” he asked, while fighting off the urge to kiss her.
“Probably the same thing with you and that girl … except, you know, without the sex.”
“Huh?” His heart dropped into his stomach. “Wait, no—”
“Word around the resort is that you got her pregnant at the campfire two weeks ago. Shotgun wedding or something.”
He stared into her brown eyes before she busted out into a soft peal of giggles.
“Cayden?” someone shouted.
Once she had thrown him off with her story about Meghan, he lost track of his thoughts. “Dale Newman isn’t what he seems,” he blurted out. Levi never told anyone about the campfire, but apparently his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend had decided to share the details.
“Thanks for the warning, Dad.”
“And we are not getting married,” he damn near spat.
“So that tacky carny ring didn’t mean anything?”
“That was…” At a loss for words, he tried to save himself but couldn’t come up with anything.
“Cayden, we’re meeting the guys at the ice cream shop, come on!”
“I’ve got to go.”
Knocked off kilter by the quick turn in conversation, he helplessly felt her pull away.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he choked out before the girl he truly wanted disappeared into the belly of the funhouse.
****
Present Day
Levi woke in the dark room with a major crick in his neck. He cut the groan off in his throat once he realized Cayden finally fell asleep. Reluctant to move away from her light grip, he slipped her hold and creeped out of the room.
Without bumping into any of the girly furniture, he worked his way around the oversized pieces.
Boxes full of books, medical reports, and pictures littered her living room. He picked up Shana’s school picture, which lay on top of the pile, and studied the photograph. She appeared younger than he remembered. The townie with the dark hair and alabaster skin had scored a scholarship to Chesterfield. She gave the camera an arrogant smile only a sixteen-year-old girl could pull off.
St. Geneva rarely had crime, let alone murder. The death of the teen forced a huge wedge between the working Joes and the upper class who seemed to look down upon them. After her death, the locals no longer wanted any part of the spoiled rich kids.
Levi put the photo back in the pile and left Cayden’s cabin, making sure to lock the door behind him before he followed the light of the full moon to his house. Since he had gone off the radar for most of the day, he pulled out his cell and saw a ridiculous number of texts.
Groggy from too much sleep, he slid the phone back in his pocket and prayed the Winnebago parked in front of his house did not belong to his parents. Maybe a crazed hitchhiker with a chainsaw, he thought, but hopefully not Mom and Dad.
When his mom threw open the door, his wishful thinking went straight out the window. “Where the hell have you been? We’ve been calling you for over an hour!”
“Good to see you, too, Mom. Why didn’t you let yourself into the house?”
After Dad’s mild heart attack, Levi had taken over the family home. He refinished the floors and changed almost everything about it from his childhood. Unfortunately, the furniture holdovers were a problem. One hideous antique couch and an even worse piano, Lydia promised him a painful death if he put them in storage.
Unlike most retirees, they didn’t want to move to Florida. Instead, they bought a motorhome, which allowed them to come and go without notice. Their accessibility to the house almost made him regret the arrangement altogether.
“To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Do we need a reason to visit our business, and most importantly our son?” She kissed him on the cheek. “Trent, he’s finally home.”
“Took him long enough!”
“Uh, you two do know that there’s a cabin set up for you just a yard away, right? I mean, you’re not that old, dementia shouldn’t be kicking in quite yet.”
“Funny, funny boy.” She patted his cheek with more strength than it warranted. “You didn’t tell us Cayden’s in town.”
“How did you know?” The sound of a dog barking brought a smile to his face. He kneeled down for his Blue Pitbull, Belle, as she ran out of the motorhome to greet him. “Hey, girl.” He loaned his baby to his parents for their motorhome trips.
“Goosebay Lake hashtag is viral.” She turned her tablet around to show Levi.
“I think it’s hashtag Goosebay Lake … never mind,” he said before he focused on the screen—as Cayden did this amazing jump in the air, the ponies ran underneath her.
“Looks like one of the farmhands has a future in cell phone photography,” Mom said.
He gave the blue beast a kiss on her head while his dad brought the luggage out of the motorhome and set it on the ground. “In other words, you came home to play referee.” Levi stood and grabbed their bags, ready to lug them to the next cabin over before his dad waved him to put them back down.
“Of course not, honey. You two are grown adults—”
“Trust me, we’re fine,” he muttered, sounding lame to even his own ears.
“Until you’re not,” Dad said. “And that’s why we’re here.” Not much on the chitchat, Dad always got to the point.
“How did you find that picture, anyway?”
Golf cart headlights bumped down the path from the main resort toward the cabins.
More good news.
“There’s this Instagram account.” Mom flashed the screen at him again and swiped the pics. “It’s called Rich America. Cayden’s image often ends up there. She’s a favorite.”
Various pictures with celebrities displayed her on yachts, beaches, and shopping. The sexy woman more than held her own against the unobtainable Victoria Secret beauties next to her.
“Mr. Scott!” Katie, his marketing manager, hopped off the cart. “I tried to call you but— Oh hi, all the Scotts!” she said to his parents. “Is this a bad time?”
He opened his mouth to explain that it couldn’t have been worse, but Mom held up her hand to cut him off. “No, dear, please.”
“Well, after you went to the barn this afternoon, reservations lit up and now we’re overbooked for the rest of the season.”
His mom clapped with a cheer. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Yes and no. We have a wedding that Ms. Young booked for her friends and that’s now presenting some conflicts with the rest of the resort.”
Levi sighed. “We’ll take care of it later. Thanks, Katie.”
“I told you the pumpkin patch idea was a good one,” his marketing exec squeaked excitedly. “We just put our fall plans on the website and I believe that’s why it crashed.”
“What time did those reservations start coming in?”
“Around 3:00 PM?” Katie stepped back into the golf cart as his mother held up the tablet and pointed at the time. Cayden’s photo posted at 2:55 PM.
“That’s just great,” he hissed underneath his breath.
“Yep.” Dad grabbed the bags and took them into the main house. “You two are good … until you’re not.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll just stay here for the night, honey. Tomorrow will go to our own cabin,” Mom said.
“They’re all our cabins!” his dad hollered out the front door.